Cause trouble in Grantham’s pubs and face a five-year ban

Trouble-makers will face a five-year ban from almost every pub, bar and club in Grantham, as Pubwatch returns.

The scheme ran sucessfully in the town centre until a couple of years ago when it came to an end following a decline in local authority support. A call from members of the public and landlords has seen it reinstated by Kaz Smith and Mark Colam-Johnson.

Kaz has been involved with Pubwatch for eight years. She said: “There’s been no increase in trouble, but people feel safer with Pubwatch running.”

All bar one town centre watering hole has signed up to the scheme. Anyone causing trouble will be excluded immediately, with details and descriptions being passed through via radio to both member pubs and the CCTV monitoring unit. Then a panel of five people, made up of Pubwatch members, decide the length of the ban. The person in question is invited to the panel meeting where they can put forward an explanation for their actions. Any CCTV footage is shown, leaving many apologetic as they “can’t believe what they see”.

The minumum ban term is three months and the maximum is five years.

Kaz said: “When it ran previously, we did have quite a few five-year bans. It does work.”

Anyone who ignores the ban is removed from the town centre by police. If they continue to do so, Pubwatch will apply to the magistrates’ court for an anti-social behaviour order.